Gift Academy (Book One in the Gifted Series)

Chapter Twenty Nine

Fay

I go to sleep early that night. After being sent back to my dorm- empty and cold without Veronica- I get ready to go to sleep and crash on my bed, almost automatically falling asleep.

I feel a rush of cool air and hear the wind pierce through me. I open my eyes and I'm outside a black-bricked, castle-shaped academy. Gift. The sky is dark and starry, illuminating the academy, making it seem almost ominous.

I hear the light footsteps of someone walking on the pavement. I turn towards the sound and see a teenage girl with curly, dark brown hair and glassy, chocolate brown eyes sneaking around. I've never seen her before, which can only mean two things.

One; Extra. Two; Shifter.

Anger builds inside me as I see the girl- about sixteen years old- quietly sneak around Gift Academy, tightly clutching what looks like a note in her right hand. I study her face and notice the worry in her eyes, the nervous biting of her lip, and the slight tremble of her hands. I don't know what this girl wants to do, but I don't think it's to knock us all down with vines or burn us with fire.

I follow the girl towards the front doors of Gift Academy, and her breathing quickens as she reaches the glass doors. Still slightly shaking, she bends down and slips the paper in her hand under the doors. She stays on her knees, watching through the glass at Gift Academy; the hallways I've grown so familiar and comfortable with.

This girl wants something from us, and it's not violence.

I focus on my conscious and force myself awake. Before I know it, I jerk upright in my bed, much more calm than the other times I've woken up from a vision.

I jump out of my bed and race downstairs towards the front doors. I bound down the steps and when I reach the doors, I look down and there's the paper, folded and signed in neat handwriting. I snatch it from the ground and peer out the doors. I see the girl slowly walking away, continuously looking around for something. She's scared, paranoid. She needs help, I know she does.

Clutching the note tightly in my hand, I quietly open the glass doors and calmly call out to the girl.

"Hey," I call out softly. The girl jumps back and stares at me, her dark eyes wide with fear. She takes a step back, but I hold up my hand in a peaceful gesture.

"Please don't do anything. I-I don't want trouble..." the girl stammers, slowly backing away from me.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything. It's okay. You're safe, I promise," I reply softly. The girl seems to relax a bit, not backing away anymore. She glances down at the note in my hand and back to me.

"D-Did you read it?" She asks me in a quiet, small voice. I shake my head, looking down at the note in my hand.

"Not yet. I just wanted to get to you before you took off," I answer, looking back up at her. She furrows her eyebrows in confusion, her eyes darting around my face, seeming to analyze me.

"How did you know I was here?" She questions, a wary tone in her voice. I hesitate, wondering that if she's an Extra or a Shifter and I tell her that I have visions of them, she might tell them and they might do something about it. What, I'm not sure, but I don't want to take any risks.

"It's a long story," I reply simply, then gesture to Gift Academy. "Do you want to come in?"

The girl looks a bit stunned, but she nods her head and cautiously follows me into Gift Academy. I gesture for her to be silent as I lead her up to my dorm. I know it's risky, voluntarily and secretly bringing either a Shifter or an Extra into my dorm, but this girl seems trustworthy. There's something about her; maybe her constant nervous fiddling, the look on her face that showed that she seemed genuinely scared of me, or the fact that she didn't attack me the moment she saw me, especially considering that I'm obviously a Gifted.

I quietly open my dorm door and the girl walks in, seeming to take in all of her surroundings at once. She seems so at ease here, a lot safer than she was outside. What is she doing here, anyways? What's inside the note she left?

"Sit down," I order her softly, and she obeys automatically, sitting on one of the chairs next to the couch. I notice that her eyes are sunken in, and that she's a lot thinner than she should be. How long has it been for her without any food or water?

I rush to the kitchen and grab a water bottle and heat up some leftover pasta.

"Y-You don't have to..." The girl stammers, fiddling with the hem of her dark yellow t-shirt. She wears a black sweater over it and black skinny jeans along with dirty black and white gym shoes.

"How long has it been since you've eaten?" I ask her, glancing down at her sunken eyes and thin frame. She looks down and her cheeks flush a deep red, suddenly interested in the light brown carpet under her.

"Only four days..." The girl answers quietly, just loud enough for me to hear. I'm stunned at her response, freezing as I open the microwave after it beeps, signaling the food is ready. I stare at her, my eyes wide in shock. I shake it off and grab the pasta from the microwave, pouring it all onto a glass plate. I carry the plate with a fork and the water bottle to the girl and set it on the table in front of her. She mutters a 'thank you' but doesn't touch anything. I sit down on the couch next to her and she seems a lot more at ease around me.

"What's your name?" I ask her sweetly, trying to sound kind and caring.

"Jennifer," she answers, fiddling with a loose curl that fell from her low ponytail.

"Jennifer...?" I gesture for her to give me her last name. She hesitates, but soon answers.

"Walker."

In a flash, I remember that last name. Walker.

Emily Walker.